Joo-hyuk groaned as he crumpled up another sheet of paper and threw it in the trashcan next to him. He still had no idea what to say to her, but he knew that he had to deny her marriage proposal. What did she take him for? Joo-hyuk leaned back as he smirked at this absurd situation he was in. All he wanted was to recruit the renowned international lawyer as the Legal Director of his company—just how did he manage to get himself into this mess? The CEO hung his head low as he sighed. She really was a peculiar one. Joo-hyuk tapped his index finger on his desk as he waited for Clara to show up. I need to put my foot down—I can’t let her walk all over me!, he thought as Kang-san knocked on Joo-hyuk’s door, announcing Clara’s arrival.

The businessman looked up and told them to enter as he placed his pen neatly on the table. Clara walked in looking haggard with bloodshot eyes. Joo-hyuk stared at her in shock, what had happened to her in the last two days?! He just gaped at her, forgetting to tell her to sit. Clara rubbed her eyes as she pointed to the chairs with her finger, asking if she could sit. He shut his mouth and nodded, also standing up from his desk to sit across from her. Joo-hyuk glanced over at Clara who looked like she was about to fall asleep any second.

“Er, are you all right? Did you not get any sleep last night?” he asked.

“Oh, uh, well… I ended up staying up until late… Er, anyways, I contacted my sources and they told me that Mrs. Tan has yet to sign any contracts… Apparently, we have a meeting immediately after Cha Soo-ho, the Planning Director of Daesung Foods… I’m presuming he will be the one to present his business proposal to her. Here’s an outline of what I have found so far of her preferences.” she said as she handed him her tablet that she had brought with her.

“Huh… This is quite thorough… Are you sure she hasn’t signed any contracts yet?” he continued to scroll down the document.

“My informant wouldn’t deceive me—especially since they owe me a debt. The information should be accurate. However, I will double-check to see if it’s true.” Clara replied, rubbing her tired, dry eyes again.

“Leave that to me, I’ll figure it out… Are you sure you’re okay? You can take a day off if you’d like.” Joo-hyuk said, concerned for her well-being, as he handed her tablet back.

“No, I’m all right, thank you for your concern though… I looked over the contract that Chief Secretary Jang had sent me last time… Could I see the final presentation slides as well?” she scanned her tablet for anything that stood out to her.

“… Let’s not talk about that for a minute. Let’s talk about your… offer. Why do you even want to marry me, of all people? You don’t know me; I don’t know you. Don’t you want to be in a marriage full of love?” he crossed his arms, curiously watching Clara. He had been dying to know the reason the why for the past two days.

“Why? Do you want to fall in love with me before we get married?” Clara asked jokingly, with a slight smile.

“… Never mind. I don’t know why I asked.” Joo-hyuk responded with a sigh.

“Hmm… Well… would you believe me if I said I have feelings for you…?” she smiles, entertained by Joo-hyuk’s reaction.

It wasn’t completely a lie— there was some truth to what she said. She smiled as she remembered their brief encounter ten years ago. Who would have thought she would meet him again? She had completely forgotten about meeting her ‘first love’ in London all those years ago. Granted, it had only been a very short meeting, in which he helped her retrieve her bag from that pickpocket. Clara smiled at her naïve 16-year-old self. She had always thought those who ‘fell in love at first sight’ were mindless—how can one fall in love at just a mere glance? What a hypocrite she was. Clara laughed out loud at her thoughts, forgetting she was talking to her employer.

“… What are you laughing at??? You… What games are you playing here?!” Joo-hyuk frowned, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

“Nothing. I’m not playing any games. I really do have some feelings for you.” she said as she smiled at him, her fatigue completely gone.

“How? Are you okay? Maybe you really should take a day off— “

“I’m not lying, I really do like you—in a way…. Is that not okay?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Um… I mean… I’m flattered, but… Don’t people usually ask to date—not ask for marriage? Also, I’m your employer, I’m not interested in dating my employee… Wait. Did you just say, ‘in a way’?” the CEO questioned, incredulously, not sure if her heard her correctly.

“… Well, why not? I can assure you I will be professional. I can differentiate between personal and professional relationships. If you’re that reluctant, then we can date first before we get married…” she said thoughtfully, careful to not answer his question. He didn’t need to know what kind of feelings she had—all Joo-hyuk needed was a reason, and she had given him one.

“… No, I think you’re not getting my point. I—”

“You just said that people usually ask to date, so I’m telling you that I want to date you. Then we can get married… I’m determined to marry you at whatever cost.”

“… I’m not a product! You can’t just buy me! What about my feelings? And how do you have feelings for me when you‘ve only known me for two weeks?!” he was flabbergasted— why was she being so adamant?!.

“Well, if I remember correctly, you didn’t take my feelings into account when you introduced me as your ‘girlfriend’… Besides, you seem to not want to get engaged to Ms. Cha Jung-hyun anyway. Since you already lied that I’m your girlfriend, we can just do it for real now! Plus, I practically convinced you with this offer— you’re really easy to win over.” she said with a sweet, innocent smile.

“I… I already apologized for that! And I am not easy! We’re not having this deal! It’s off!” Joo-hyuk responded, exasperated and flustered with the direction this conversation was going.

“Oh? Okay, then I’ll let GK Group know that I’ll be working for them starting tomorrow!” Clara chirped with a happy smile as she got up from her seat.

“!!!! I… Wait! Argh! Fine… We can date for a month. Then we can… discuss where to take it from there…”, Joo-hyuk  averted his eyes from hers. He sighed in dejection… The heir couldn’t believe he had lost to her!

“Great! Then let’s get dinner later!”, she giggled with a huge grin, while stifling a yawn.

“Are you asking me out on a date?”, Joo-hyuk was amazed at her straightforwardness.

“Of course! It’s our first day as a couple after all~!”

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**